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Your Estate Plan and Retiring Abroad

Published on: March 19, 2018 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Retirement is a time to relax and enjoy the things you have worked hard for all of your life. For many people, that means spending more time at the golf course or spoiling grandchildren. For others, it means adventure and traveling to places they have always wanted to go. In many cases, a person or couple’s objectives in retirement can best be met by retiring abroad. Whether you are doing so for the cost of living, to be closer to family, or just because you want to there are important considerations to keep in mind when it comes to your comprehensive estate plan.

Taxes

No matter what country they live in, citizens of the United States are still required to pay taxes to Uncle Sam. If you maintain residence in a state, that state may also continue to impose taxes on you. While you would likely be paying those taxes if you remained in the United States, living abroad could also subject you to taxes in the host country. That means you may face issues of double taxation, and that can have a significant impact on the assets you retain within your estate.

How the New Tax Laws Could Help your Estate Planning Goals

Published on: March 13, 2018 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The new tax laws taking effect in 2018 give both individuals and couples even more flexibility to plan for their estates and ensure the largest possible part of their estate goes to beneficiaries on a tax-free basis. While the changes will remain in effect until 2025, families should start formulating estate plans now in order to take the greatest advantage possible of the reforms and craft the best possible plan for the future.

The tax reform bills substantially increases the individual estate and gift tax exemption from $5.6 million to approximately $11.2 million and up to $22.4 million for a married couple. After December 31, 2025, the numbers will revert back to their 2017 numbers adjusted for inflation. However, law makes no changes to the 40 percent tax rate currently imposed on transfers in excess of the exemption amount.

With the new changes, wealthy individuals and couples should consider immediately making large gifts or create trusts to maximize their federal estate and gift tax exemptions. Having the ability for married couples to transfer up to $22.4 million can benefit multiple generations of family members and avoid any future additional wealth transfer taxes. Furthermore, those who have already expended their gift tax exemptions prior to the end of 2017 will now have an additional $11.2 million to work with.

Mortality Rates Down for Older Americans

Published on: March 10, 2018 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Promising statistics recently came out early this year indicating the mortality rate for older Americans is down from 2015 to 2016, perhaps due in part to the greater access to healthcare our elders enjoy now that insurance companies cannot deny individuals with pre-existing conditions. For Americans age 75 to 84, the mortality rate improved by 2.3 percent between 2015 and 2016, or twice the rate of improvement seen between 2011 and 2016. The figures come from the Society of Actuaries and is based on data provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

Mortality also improved for those 85-years and older by 2.1 percent, which is more than three times the rate of improvement between 2011 and 2016, according to new analysis from the Society of Actuaries. However, Americans aged 25 to 34-years old saw their mortality rates increase by 10.5 percent in 2016 which represented the highest of all age brackets.

The Society of Actuaries believes the uptick in mortality rates for younger Americans is due to a spike in accidents and the nationwide opioid epidemic. According to the report, opioid deaths are up almost 25 percent across the country in 2016, which constituted the highest increase for any single type of death.

Where Do I File for Probate?

Published on: February 26, 2018 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When someone passes away, he or she typically designates an individual as the executor of the estate in a last will and testament. As the executor of the estate, that individual has tremendous responsibility to fulfill his or her duty to the deceased and carry out that person’s final wishes to distribute property as desired. Unless executors fully embrace their responsibility to act as the representative of an estate and gather all the necessary documentation, complications can arise that may delay what should otherwise be a relatively simple process.

One of the most important primary steps the executor of the estate will have to take is filling the estate with the appropriate probate court in New York State. The proper venue is in the probate court of the county where the deceased lived or intended to return to if he or she was away from their residence at the time of death. If the will is filed with the wrong probate court, the judge hearing the case will likely be forced to reject the will’s entrance to probate.

If the deceased had more than one home, the proper county would be the one where the individual primarily lived or intended to live before passing away. Often times, older people live out their final days in nursing homes or assisted living facilities in counties outside of where there home actually is. Again, the proper jurisdiction to file probate would be where the person lived or would have lived had he or she not been a resident at the nursing home or assisted living facility.

How Do I Obtain a Death Certificate in New York?

Published on: February 22, 2018 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When someone dies, a death certificate records on paper the time and place where the decedent passed away. While the funeral director where you lay your loved one to rest will usually obtain several copies for your records, it may be necessary to obtain a certified copy that has a raised seal and can be used for matters like settling an estate or claiming insurance benefits.

If someone passes away in New York City, Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, you can obtain a copy from the New York City Office of Vital Health either online or through the mail. If the decedent passed away outside of New York City but in the state of New York, you can order a certified copy of the death certificate online or by mail from the New York State Department of Health.

It is important to note that death certificates can take anywhere from three to four weeks to receive once ordered and are comprised of two parts: the standard certificate of death and the confidential medical report detailing the cause of death. To obtain the confidential medical report with the death certificate, you must be a relative of the deceased. That person can be: a spouse, domestic partner,parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, informant listed on the certificate, or person in control of disposition.

BACK TO THE BASICS – MEDICAID PENALTY PERIOD

Published on: May 19, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

RULE OF HALVES

Many people find themselves going into nursing homes earlier than expected and without the appropriate planning. Things happen in life to derail our best laid or thought out plans. With more and more elderly Americans living longer, the need for nursing home care is increasing and will continue to increase indefinitely. Whenever someone does not properly plan for going into a nursing home, often their personal funds will be the basis upon which they will pay for their nursing home care. Certainly, there are those amongst us who purchase long term care insurance but for the majority of us, we rely on utilizing Medicare or private insurance or some combination of the two.

This is a misconception, insofar as the most that Medicare will pay for is 20 days for full nursing home care and up to 80 days partial care, for a total of 100 days. Moreover, this stay must be preceded by a three day hospital stay. Any more time in the nursing home requires that the patient either pay through private insurance or by private pay. Granted entry into a nursing home often comes as a surprise to many, but for those who have an idea that they may have to enter into a nursing home, they scramble last minute to dispose of their assets with the mistaken belief that they will be able to show to the government that they do not have any assets and are thus eligible for Medicaid, to pay for their further nursing home stay.